Work holding method and means



Sept. 22, 1 959 13. w, ORCHARD 2,905,339

WORK HOLDING METHOD AND MEANS Filed Dec. 19, 1957 2 I I '7 f1 INVENTOR.

I Y Dar/Z2 [1107mm ATTCIRN EYB WORK HOLDING METHOD AND MEANS David W. Orchard, Mentor, Ohio Application December 19, 1957, Serial No. 703,968

2 Claims. (Cl. 214-1) This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for treating workpieces or blanks.

The object of the invention is to provide a method of and means of treating workpieces such as key blanks, wherein a means is provided whereby such key blanks can be efliciently anodized, or electro-plated, so that a plurality of such articles or workpieces can be treated in a short period of time and at a minimum cost.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means for treating workpieces such as workpieces which are provided with thru holes, so that such workpieces can be economically and readily anodized or electro-plated, and wherein the treatment is accomplished in such a manner that the finished product has a complete and uniform coating over the entire exposed surface thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a work holding means which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture or operate.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same.

Figure l is an elevational View illustrating the step of using a loading fixture to load the blanks on a rod.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an elevational view illustrating the dipping or treating rack.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the rack of Figure 5, with parts broken away and in section.

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating a modification.

Figure 8 is an elevational view illustrating the unloading fixture.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a loading rack which includes a body portion 11 and supporting legs 12 which have horizontal flanges 13 on their lower ends, Figure l. The body portion 11 of the rack or fixture 10 is provided with a plurality of vertically disposed spaced apart slots 14, and as shown in Figure 4 each of the slots 14 includes a lower portion 15 and an upper enlarged portion 16 which defines a shoulder 17. The numeral 18 indicates workpieces which are being treated, and in the drawings the workpieces 18 are in the nature of key blanks. However, it is to be understood that the principles of the present invention are applicable to other types of workpieces besides key blanks. As shown in the drawings, the key blanks 18 include the usual shank portions 19 which extend through the lower portions 15 of the slots 14, and

. the key blanks 18 further include upper enlarged portions 20 which have a thru hole 21 therein. While the drawings Stats Patent 0 "ice show the thru holes 21 to be of circular formation, it is to be understood that the thru holes may be of any desired configuration, as for example the thru holes may be triangular in shape instead of being circular.

Spaced from the fixture 10 is a cylinder 22 which may be air operated, and the cylinder 22 has a movable piston or plunger 23 extending therefrom. The piston 23 has a rod 24 detachably connected thereto, and as shown in Figulres 3 and 4, the rod 24- may be circular in cross-section. The rod 24 includes a front tapered end 25 which facilitates the insertion of the rod 24- through the thru holes 21 in the key blanks 18. The numeral 26 indicates an elongated flexible strip which is also arranged so that it extends through the registering thm holes 21, and the strip 26 serves to exert a binding or locking action on the rod 24 so that the rod 24 will be maintained in its proper position when it is extended through the key blanks.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is shown a rack which is indicated generally by the numeral 27, and the rack 27 includes spaced apart support members 2-8 which have hooks 29 on their upper ends whereby the rack can be conveniently suspended in a dipping tank or electrolytic bath or anodizing solu-.

tion. The rack 27 further includes a plurality of horizontally disposed spaced parallel bars 30 which extend between the support members 28, and the bars 30 are provided with apertures 32 for receiving therein portions of the rods 24. The support members 28 are adapted to be connected to the bars 30 by means of securing elements 31. The numeral 33 indicates securing elements such as screws which can be used for maintaining the rods 24 connected to the bars 30. As shown in Figure 6, the rods 24 having the key blanks thereon are arranged in offset relation with respect to each other and extend in opposite directions from the bars 30, and this arrangement insures that the widest possible coverage or exposure to solution is provided for the key blanks or other workpieces being treated.

Referring to Figure 7 of the drawings, there is shown a modification wherein the numeral 34 indicates a rod which is adapted to be used in substantially the same manner as the previously described rod 24. However, the rod 34 is not cylindrical in formation as is the rod 24, and in fact the rod 34 has an elongated flat surface 35, and the rod 34 is adapted to be maintained in place by a flexible strip 36 which functions in the same manner as the strip 26.

Referring to Figure 8 of the drawings, there is shown an unloading fixture which is indicated generally by the numeral 37, and the unloading fixture 37 includes a vertically disposed leg or plate 38 which is provided with an opening 39 therein whereby the rod 24 having the treated key blanks thereon can be arranged as shown in Figure 8. Then, since the cylinder 22 is of the double acting type, the rod 24 can be moved to such a position by the cylin der 22 so as to permit removal of the rod from the key blanks whereby the key blanks can be placed in a suitable receptacle or the like, after the key blanks have been anodized or electroplated. The fixture 37 further includes a lower flange 40 which may be secured to a supporting structure 42 by means of a securing element 41.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided a method of and means for treating workpieces such as the workpieces 18. In the drawings, the work pieces have been illustrated as key blanks which are to be color anodized or electroplated, but it is to be understood that the present invention is not restricted to any particular workpiece nor is it restricted to any particular treating solution.

In use, the plurality of workpieces 18 are arranged in the loading fixture so that the shank portions 19 of the key blanks 18 extend through the lower portion of the slots 14, and the shoulders 17 serve to support the key blanks 18 in their proper position. It is to be noted from Figure 1, that a plurality of the key blanks 18 are arranged in the fixture 10 in such a manner that the thru holes 21 are in aligned relation with respect to each other. ported in the fixture 10, the flexible strip 26 is extended through the registering thru holes 21 as shown in Figure 1. Then, the cylinder is actuated so as to move the [piston 23, and the rod 24 is releasably connected to the movable piston 23. Thus, the rod 24 is then pushed through the registering thru holes or openings 21 so that the strip 26 is flexed slightly whereby the strip 26 moves from the position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 3 so that the flexible strip 26 will exert a clamping or holding action on the rod 24. Then,

With a plurality of key blanks 18 sup- 7 the piston is disconnected from the end of the rod 24 and the rod 24 having the plurality of key blanks 18 thereon is arranged in engagement with one of the apertures 32 in a bar of the rack 27. It is to be understood that a plurality of the rods 24 having key blanks 18 thereon are connected to the bars 30 of the rack 27 and as shown in Figure 6 for example, it will be seen that these rods are arranged in ofiset relation with respect to each other so that they extend in opposite directions and this arrangement insures that the key blanks will be provided with the maximum coverage when they are dipped in a treating solution such as an electrolytic bath or color anodizing solution. The rods 24 are held in the bars 30 by means of the screws 33, and the rack 27 includes the support members 28 which have hooks 29 on their upper ends whereby the hooks 29 can be arranged in engagement with portions of the tank or the like which contains the treating solution.

After the key blanks have been treated for a predetermined period of time, the rack 27 is removed from the treating solution or tank, and then the rods 24 having the key blanks thereon are disengaged or removed from the apertures 32. Next, the cylinder 22 is connected to a projecting end of the rod 24 and with the parts in the position of Figure 8, the cylinder 22 can be actuated to push the rod 24 out through the thru holes in the key blanks, or else the rod can be pulled from the thru holes, and then the strip 26 is removed from the thru holes whereby the completed or finished key blanks 18 can be placed in a suitable receptacle or the like. The unloading rack 37 is held stationary by means of the screw 41 which serves to anchor the rack 37 to the supporting structure 42, and the rack 37 provides an abutment whereby the cylinder can be used for conveniently removing the rod 24 from the finished key blanks.

As shown in Figure 4 for example, the loading fixture is sufficiently tall between the keys so that the heads 20 of the keys are supported to prevent bending.

According to the present invention, it will be seen that there has been provided a method of and means for handling workpieces whereby such workpieces can be electroplated or anodized or the like. While key blanks have been illustrated as the workpieces, it is to be understood that any type of workpieces can be handled such as turbine blades or other articles in a spaced apart relation on a support bar for immersion of the articles in an electrolytic bath, and the present invention is especially suitable for anodizing aluminum key blanks such as those which are used for automobiles. Previous to the present invention, the labor cost and tank space requirements for existing methods resulted in a total cost of anodizing such articles which was prohibitive. For example, manufacturers of key blanks have found that the .cost of color anodizing blanks was between three cents and three and one-half cents, depending upon the size and shape. However, by using the method of the present invention the '4 result will be a lower cost such as one-half cent each. Thus, in view of the high cost, aluminum blanks are either not used or are used without being color anodized.

The method of the present invention is substantially as follows. The blanks 18 are first dropped into the slots 14 of the fixture 10 and then the fiat strip 26 is threaded through the holes 21 of the blanks and then the rod 24 is inserted by means of the air cylinder 22. The groups which are thus assembled are then mounted in the rack 27 and secured by means of the screws 33. These group mountings are staggered in the rack 27 in order to further conserve space. The completed rack is small in size and light in weight and can hold a great number of key blanks. After the anodizing is completed, the rods 24 are removed from the group of blanks as shown in Figure 8. Thus, rapid loading, excellent electrical contact, and confinement of the supports and the spots left by them to the interior of the hole 21 where they are practically invisible, as well as uniform spacing and more uniform coloring or plating, and compactness resulting in a minimum tank space requirement and more racks per load or plating cycle, as well as rapid unloading are some of the advantages accomplished by the present invention. The present invention is limited to articles which have a thru hole therein.

The strip 26 is preferably constructed of the same material as the articles being processed, but in spring temper. For example, when handling aluminum key blanks, the strip material 26 may be Alcoa 7074-T6 aluminum, which is relatively hard and springy. The width of the strip 26 is slightly less than the diameter of the hole 21 in the article, and the diameter of the rod 24 is more than onehalf the hole diameter, but less than the hole diameter decreased by the thickness of the strip. The thickness of the strip is calculated so that the deflection does not exceed the elastic limit of the material which is standard engineering procedure. As shown in Figure 7 the mounting rods 34 may be provided with a flat surface 35 and the rods. 34 coact with a flexible strip 36. Also, the mounting rods such as the rods 34 may be rigidly attached to the rack and then the articles with the spring strip are slid into position and then camrned by rotation of the members 18 as shown by dotted and full lines in Figure 7. This procedure is especially well adapted to larger articles such as turbine blades, but can also be used with any of the previously described articles. Set-ups utilizing the present invention may also be used for rocket turbine blades, as well as for aluminum switch and receptable Wall plates, as well as any other suitable article.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

I claim:

1. In a work handling apparatus, first means for supporting a plurality of workpieces of the type that have thru holes therein, means for inserting a rod through said thru holes when said workpieces are positioned in said first means, means insertable in said thru holes for clamping the rod in said rthru holes, a treating rack for supporting said rods with the workpieces thereon in offset relation with respect to each other, and means for removing the rods from the thru holes in said work pieces after the workpieces have been treated.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a loading fixture including a body portion provided with a plurality of vertically disposed slots for receiving blanks to be color anodized, said blanks have registering thru holes therein, legs for supporting said body portion, a cylinder spaced from said fixture, a movable piston extending from said cylinder, a rod extending from said piston, a flexible strip arranged contiguous to said rod and extending through the thru holes in said blanks, a track including a pair of spaced parallel vertically disposed support members thavipg hooks on their upper ends, a plurallty of horizontally disposed spaced parallel bars extending between said support members, said bars being provided with spaced apart apertures therein for receiving the rods having the blanks thereon after said rods have been removed from said loading fixture, securing elements extending through said bars and engaging said rods, an unloading fixture for receiving said rods with the blocks thereon and said unloading fixture including a ventically disposed plate and a horizontally disposed flange adapted to be secured to a supporting snruoture;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Belke Ian. 6, 1925 Wells Feb. 24, 1925 Lindstrom Apr. 27, 1926 Black Nov. 30, 1937 Pet-rofi Dec. 31, 1940 Hooe Sept. 25, 1951 Roberts Jan. 15, 1952 Grondzik 2; Mar. 19, 1957 

